


Caring Makes All The Difference

by freakingdork



Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: Caretaking, Fluff, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-08-21
Updated: 2012-08-21
Packaged: 2017-11-12 15:13:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 983
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/492602
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/freakingdork/pseuds/freakingdork
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Morgan would give Reid anything, even something as simple as this.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Caring Makes All The Difference

**Author's Note:**

> written for Shelby's birthday (8-18)

The doctors tell Spencer that the first few weeks of recovery from the bullet to his knee are going to be the worst. He's thinking of tramadol and how it'll barely cover the pain until they mention making sure he's not pushing himself too much, a reduced range of motion, and not putting any weight on his left leg; then Spencer's thinking of boredom and wondering if he can even get into his apartment with its stairs and tight corners.

Despite only being in an actual relationship for a couple of months, Morgan is at the hospital every minute he can and catches a conversation about the practicalities of what Spencer will need to heal once he's discharged. After the doctor leaves, Morgan turns to him and says, in no uncertain terms, that Spencer will be staying with him, at least until he's off crutches. Something tells Spencer that he might just be moving in permanently and while he's not entire certain how he feels about that, he really needs to be somewhere without stairs.

***

Clooney is unexpectedly excited to see him; he shouldn't be since he got used to Spencer coming over frequently, but Spencer laughs and Morgan is firm with commands. Getting him inside the house is a little tricky anyway, what with the modified wheelchair - his leg sticks straight out at a 90 degree angle - and the doorway has a slightly raised hump for Morgan to push him over.

“Are you okay? Can I get you some ice?” Morgan asks once they're inside and somewhat settled.

“Eh, I'm okay right now,” Spencer says. “I really wish I could take a shower though.”

“I know, but I could grab some hot water and wash cloths and get you cleaned up.”

Spencer grumbles a bit - all he'd had at the hospital were bed baths and there's nothing quite like having a shower or an actual bath - but agrees and Morgan leaves to get things ready. After getting his shirt off, Spencer attempts to at least wiggle his sweat pants off, but each little shimmy sends waves of pain through his body. When Morgan comes back with a bucket of water and catches Spencer, he nearly drops the water as he hurries over.

“Oh, I'm sorry. I kinda forgot you'd need some help with this too.”

“It's okay, I kinda did too,” Spencer says, “but you could kiss it and make it better?”

Morgan grins and leans over, lightly pressing his lips against Spencer's, then to his cheek and his jaw and his neck until a trail of light little kisses covers Spencer's face and neck. There's soft kisses to Spencer's open palms, the insides of his wrists, and his biceps. Once on his chest, it's more licks and nips than kisses that Morgan gives him, but they're still just as sweet.

“Okay babe, I need you to wrap your arms around my shoulders and hang on tight.”

Spencer nods and as Morgan lifts him up, pulling down his pants and putting a towel on the seat of the wheelchair, it's clear that he'd been paying attention to hospital procedure. It still hurts because there's still some pressure on his knee, but it's far better than the attempts he made to get rid of his pants. After Morgan sets him back down, he's careful pulling the sweats all the way off. There's tender kisses to his thighs, the inside of his good knee, and his ankles.

Spencer almost wants to laugh when Morgan first puts a wet washcloth on him; the water had to have been scalding hot when Morgan filled the bucket for it to still be this warm, so he hopes the tender strokes won't distract him from remembering to give Morgan a gentle reminder. But it's hard not to get lost in the sensations - warmth where the washcloth is, cool where his skin is still damp, the softness of old washcloths, and the patterns Morgan seems to be making unconsciously - so Spencer relaxes into them.

Finally satisfied with his body, Morgan drapes some large towels over Spencer's body to keep him warm to empty and refill the bucket. Thankfully, it seems that Morgan had realized his mistake as the water was a comfortable temperature when Morgan began cupping it onto Spencer's hair. The hospital sent them home with some no rinse shampoo, so there was no pleasant rosemary scent as Morgan scrubbed his scalp, but it felt just as good as the other times he'd let Morgan wash his hair.

Spencer starts a bit when Morgan warns him that he's about to towel dry his hair. He hadn't realized he was dozing off, but even with the pain, it wasn't surprising, given the soothing treatment he was receiving. Before Spencer really knew what was happening, Morgan had him wheeled down the hall and was helping pivot him onto the bed.

“I just have to lift up your knee for a moment,” Morgan says just before doing so, slipping a firm pillow under Spencer's knee. He pulls up the covers and brushes Spencer's still damp hair back. “Are you warm enough or do you need extra blankets?”

“No,” Spencer mumbles, “but is it time for more tramadol?”

He watches as Morgan does the mental math before grabbing the bottle from the bedside table and passing him a pill and a glass of water.

“I'm going to take Clooney for a long run, get some of that energy off, but I'll have my phone on me the entire time and as soon as I get back, I'm gonna crawl in bed with you, alright?”

Spencer nods. “Derek?” he croaks just as Morgan reaches the door.

Morgan turns. “What is it?”

“This is the sweetest thing anyone's ever done for me.”

Morgan grins wide. “Anything for you, pretty boy. Anything.”

The thought lulls Spencer into the most restful sleep since he'd been shot.


End file.
